You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider roffels.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
This topic is closed.
Does anyone know if companies such as Stern or Jersey Jack pay their employees at all levels a living wage, provide health insurance, sick time, and personal time off? Do assembly-line workers work reasonable hours? Is profit-sharing offered?
Quoted from Grizlyrig:Most assembly line employees at Stern are through a temp agency. The temp agency thing has been documented and talked about previously on here.
-Mike
Thank you, that helped me find a reddit post with some not-so-flattering stories that hopefully aren't really the case. Shame if it is.
Quoted from rai:Why do you care? Maybe you’d rather they were made in China and those folks would be unemployed.
Quoted from TVP:What, do you want to pay even more? WTF???
It's good to support businesses that take care of their employees. No, I'd rather the work not be exported to China. China doesn't exactly have a good reputation for treating their labor right.
Quoted from LTG:I've been offered jobs by two companies recently. I didn't ask what they paid. I suspect at least some areas of the companies they are willing to pay a good wage. Since I would be incurring relocation costs just to get me there.
LTG : )
Good luck with wherever you end up or stay. I was debating walking a good 9 miles to visit SS earlier today, but it's too hot! Maybe tomorrow.
Quoted from FlippyD:"Living wage" is a loaded political term primarily designed to virtue signal.
Ok, how about do they make enough to work 40 hours a week, pay rent, eat healthy, and have their medical needs taken care of? We're talking about producers of $5000-$8000 fun machines, I dont really see how this should be controversial.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:The “Remanufacturer” I work for is a real tight ass. No overtime pay,no company health benefits,no sick days ,no profit sharing only sharing the losses.
I am living the American dream. I own the company
Seriously even when you are your own boss you don’t get all that stuff. These are jobs not a lifestyle adjustments.
Yeah, being a business owner sounds like a tough gig and something we're not all cut out for. Hopefully if you have employees, you treat them well and that business stays good for you.
Quoted from FlippyD:But who gets to define "living wage for pinball producer"? And why do they get that power to define that? And will that wage be the same for each individual or if I have a family with six kids do I get paid six times as much because I would need that much for it be livable?
The idea that people should be paid fairly sounds wonderful. The controversy is in the details.
So you support paying them more?
Would it be better if I asked if Stern or JJP pays enough for their line worker or receptionist or whatever to work 40 hours, pay for a 2 bedroom apartment within 10 miles of the business, and be able to afford food and medical?
Quoted from RonSS:Agreed.
If every job paid the same, what job would you choose? How many of us would choose a job that ends at the whistle, instead of spending extended hours, plus taking work home.
Just food for thought OP.
I'm talking about the bare minimum here to survive.
Quoted from FlippyD:The idea sounds wonderful doesn't it?
The reality of wage fairness is not a yes or no question. If pinball employees are paid too much than the games become too expensive. If they are paid too little the quality of the construction drops. If they have wonderful healthcare and healthcare costs skyrocket than the companies will have to lay people off.
Do you support simplifying complex issues down to easily digestible sound bites and buzz words?
Those aren't the only options. Gary Stern could take a smaller cut, for example. And if a business cant afford to take care of their employees, maybe they shouldn't exist as an entity.
Quoted from kmoore88:People have a choice. Those working at Stern, JJP, etc have decided the work and pay meets their needs. No one is forcing them to work there. In short, it’s none of your business.
Sure it is my business, who we support and why matters.
I work in sourcing of product, and its frightening how much exploitation is in our supply chain. I do my best to avoid working with businesses using slave labor and give businesses to those taking care of their employees and suppliers. Same should apply to who I support outside of work.
Quoted from RonSS:Define bare minimum. One might assume that would be called minimum wage.
If you spent $80,000 and 5 years learning a profession, and I started working right out of school doing a general labor job, should we be paid the same?
I think you are truly over simplifying this
You should both have access to healthcare and housing you can afford. If you have high technical skill and your work is in demand, you should be compensated more.
Quoted from High_End_Pins:It is just me these days but what a lot of people don’t always understand about the expense of employees is that it goes well beyond the hourly wage and benefits.
You have to match their social security and Medicade.
So a guy that brings home say $600 probably truly cost a company close to $1200 with all these additional things like insurance,workman’s comp and deductions but he feels he only makes $600 because that is what he can deposit or cash and his motivation might reflect as such.
Point being is employees pay their bills and live a lifestyle with their net pay but employers hire and manage employees based on true cost and expenses so there will be a disconnect.
True. I work in pricing and sourcing, this is my day to day. I am grateful I work for a business that pays a living wage to entry level employees, and know it's incredibly tough to do.
Quoted from Who-Dey:Why don't you go apply for a job at Stern and let us know. How the F would we know how much money people make that works there? They obviously are making enough or they would quit and go find another job. Jobs arent hard to come by right now as long as you can pass a drug test.
They're probably hard to come by if you only speak Spanish. Only job openings I saw at Stern were line supervisors that are bilingual.
Quoted from rai:Maybe learning to speak English would help get better paying jobs
It likely would.
I'd like to note that there's no confirmation what Stern or JJP pays their employees so it's probably best not to speak as if they're doing something wrong.
Quoted from Mikedenton49:Blue faced arguing is exactly the face of capitalism. On day one of any business course in the country one would learn that, labor is a commodity to be obtained at the lowest possible price point. That's you and I. It doesn't matter your position, we are beholden to the stakeholders by law and for that reason we literally cannot afford to be decent to one another. Yeah... I'd say there are some inherent flaws in this rendition of society.
15 years ago, our business program required us to take about three courses related to business ethics. They were overly flowery in nature, and did not focus on or even suggest what is ethical beyond what the law established. The closest they got to providing advice was to try to find the least harmful solution in a sticky situation. At the time I found them to be superfluous, but now wish they would have done more.
Regarding stakeholders, remember that customers, employees, the community, and business owners alike are stakeholders as what a business does impacts us all. Not to be confused with shareholders.
Quoted from pinnyheadhead:Do you own a business? Do provide all these benefits to "your" employees?
I own part of our business, but not in the way you think. We have a cooperative business model and are owned by our employees and customers. My coworkers and I have these benefits and my work directly impacts our profitability.
Here's a link to a wiki on cooperative business models in case you're unfamiliar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative
Quoted from iceman44:If we are talking about hispanics here, hence the need for bilingual, most are hard working family people that are grateful for their jobs and appreciate living in this country. It's called MADE IN THE USA.
The "living wage" they make where many of them come from is on a different level.
Hispanics aren't fleeing the US to go back to Mexico, its the other way around.
This is ridiculous thread, you better check what you buy every day and make sure it isn't from China or Mexico. Wtf.
Yeah, I'm asking if they get paid well for their hard work. I can't imagine all that wiring is easy work.
Quoted from Who-Dey:People generally dont get paid high wages because of how hard a job is. People usually get paid high wages due to their knowledge and education level or the level of responsibility that their job requires. If people got paid according to how hard they work, McDonalds employees would be higher paid than most of us here.
For sure. I've got a cushy office job and the joke with the promotion is my pay increased and my life got easier. Don't get me wrong, I like getting more money and wish I had even more, but the side-benefit of working good hours and doing less damage to my body would have been enough.
Quoted from iceman44:Hispanics working in the USA sent $$ home to Mexico in record numbers in 2017. Over $30 Billion dollars. 2018 on pace to far exceed that.
It's these jobs that have gone a LONG ways towards lessening the poverty level in Mexico. There you go.
Yeah, the work ethic of a lot of first-gen immigrants astounds me. I have a hard enough time taking care of myself, and some of my coworkers from Ethiopia send a chunk of their earnings back to their relatives. Mad respect for these workers.
Quoted from flynnibus:And the same exact kind of worker is building random boards for air conditioners, alarms, control panels, etc... They are doing factory work.. what the factory builds usually isn't that big of a factor. It's about scale that usually drives things.
Now the engineering departments, sales, etc... is that what you are asking about?
I was asking what the base line is. I emailed Stern, if they answer and they're cool with it, I'll share their response.
Quoted from Who-Dey:I still cant figure out why you care so much? We have minimum laws in this country and im aure they are above that. They must pay food enough to keep people working there or they would all leave.
A lot of immigrants and low-skill workers are paid minimum wage, which isn't enough to survive on in this country working 40 hours a week. I want to support businesses that support their employees. And a side benefit to a business taking care of their employees is that they're less likely to need government assistance.
Quoted from Who-Dey:All business cannot afford to pay their employees enough to afford a nice car and a nice home and health insurance etc. Im sure you aupport plenty of American businesses that dont pay their employees enough to live a life of luxery.
Agreed, of course I buy things from businesses don't pay their employees a life of luxury.
I did not suggest they need to own a car or house. Only that they are compensated enough to have access to housing - IE whatever rent may be in that area, and ideally have insurance and benefits. Hell, I don't own a house or car, and I'm not complaining about that. Those are luxuries, and if you have them, take comfort in them and enjoy them.
Quoted from danisme:Curious, why have you not donated to Pinside in 3 yrs?
Probably the same reason you haven't donated in 4. I last donated when I made a transaction through here. I haven't purchased a game in a long time.
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider roffels.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
This topic is closed.
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-manufacturers-pay-their-employees-a-living-wage?tu=roffels and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
Minneapolis, MN